Severe Weather Hits Greece for 48 Hours: Heavy Rain, Dangerous Storms, 8 Red Zones

A severe weather system began affecting Greece on January 31, 2026, bringing persistent rain and dangerous thunderstorms across nearly the entire country for 48 hours—lasting until Monday evening. Meteorologists warn of intense, long-duration phenomena, exacerbated by saturated ground. The storm intensified Saturday night, starting from western regions, with strong thunderstorms, gale-force winds, snow in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas, and hail. Sunday is expected to be the most hazardous day: heavy snowfall in central and northern Greece’s semi-mountainous zones, alongside prolonged rain and storms in eight high-risk areas—Western Greece, Peloponnese, Sterea Ellada, Thessaly, Crete, Cyclades, Eastern Aegean, and Attica. Athens will face powerful thunderstorms early Sunday morning. Gale-force, cyclonic winds will batter island and coastal areas. On Monday, the system will gradually weaken, remaining active only over the eastern islands. Forecasts for January 31 indicate increasing cloudiness and scattered rain in western Greece, with isolated storms in the Ionian Sea, western Sterea, and western Peloponnese until early morning; phenomena intensify after midnight. Elsewhere, mostly cloudy skies with localized rain and sporadic thunderstorms—mainly in the Aegean islands—until midday, clearing late afternoon. Brief snowfalls are expected in central and northern mountains. Winds: southwesterly 4–6 Bf in southern regions; easterly to northeasterly 3–5 Bf in the north; southeasterly up to 6 Bf in the Ionian Sea from evening. Temperatures remain stable—up to 12–14°C in the north, 15–17°C in the Ionian and mainland, and higher in the southern Aegean.